A dancer works to create aesthetic lines with his or her whole body. Thus, when a dancer wants to point the foot, to lengthen the line of the leg or if going up on releve or other body movement positions, it is important that the dancer maintain the ability to perform the medium with correct body posture while still achieving the longest, cleanest aesthetic possible.
Until now, most footwear does not fully incorporate all of the ergonomic functions the studio wearer requires. For example, currently available sneakers provide functions that dancers like, but only as a byproduct of the function for which the sneaker was originally designed. For example, a running shoe is able to provide the straight gait user with deep roll through the foot strike. This functionality provides the dancer with an enhanced ability to go into a position like releve or other motions performed on the ball of the foot with enhanced ease, but remains prohibitive to pointing the foot. This is especially noticeable since a running shoe provides more structure to prevent pronation/supination while running, making the shoe further prohibitive to pointing of the foot. Moreover, a running shoe does not have the clean aesthetic that the dancer desires since the break points in the sole used to achieve this level of flexure are deep and visible—even at a distance. The flex afforded by a running shoe is transverse to the longitudinal axis thereof, but the shoe does not afford cupping with a break between the sides. That is, a running shoe is not capable of assuming the concave shape necessary to match a foot in point.
Another shoe which could conceivably be used by dancers is a cross training shoe. While such shoes will provide the user with medial/lateral support which is required by dancers and athletes performing a variety of body motions, when used in a studio setting, they will not provide the user with enhanced roll through. Thus, the dancer must choose stability over flexibility. In addition, the dancer will not have the ability to roll through the foot and onto pointe easily nor can the dancer point his or her foot successfully true to the ergonomic extension of the leg during dance.
Split sole dance shoes are known in the art as evidenced by U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,076,284 and 7,337,558. In such shoes, the soles provide ample flexure in the arch but lack the support of a full soled sneaker and medial/lateral stability during movement. The forepart of the sole operates separately from the heel part, thus leaving room for injury and disconnect for the dancers motion. There is no guided support. Rather, the shoes merely include flexible cushioning. The do not keep the foot in proper alignment, avoid torque, or offer any support when pressure is put on the toe in point formation. The forepart of the sole is often grooved for flexure, but mimics the functionality of a running sneaker as the flexure remains one directional. Split sold jazz shoes provide no arch support and little shock absorption.
The present invention was developed in order to bring functional athleticism particularly into a dance sneaker by providing a dancer with a shoe having adequate flexure and support throughout the length of the shoe. The improved shoe sole flexes to a concave configuration and allows the wearer to remain connected with the floor while providing a full range of motion that does not encumber natural movement of the foot to an on pointe position.